CORBY...This is an interesting name for a handphone partly because it did not impart to me any significant features of the new slider device. In fact, the first thing I thought about when the name was mentioned to me was an image of the high school bully whose name is Colby. To make things interesting there is a PRO version and non-PRO version. I got a hold of the PRO version.
The Corby PRO B5310 is a remarkably small device that sports a full Qwerty landscape keyboard and a touchscreen using resistive technology. The resistive keyboard can be operated with a stylus or any other object, just make sure it isn’t metal and sharp because scratching the screen will damage it. (Tip: The touchscreen can be used to Zoom in the Internet Browser with a single finger press – press and hold then slide up/down to zoom in/out)
Like most of Samsung’s mobile phones the little Corby PRO features minimal buttons and controls. The top edge has a 3.5mm headphone jack while the bottom edge has not connection points or buttons. The right-hand edge has the digital camera shutter button and a hold button. On the left-hand edge is the volume up/down.
On the front side of the device you will see the Send button, Menu Exit/Power and the prominently located Menu Key in between the two. The Menu key will bring up icons for the phone functions. There are three menu pages. The functions are typical of what you’d expect to find – calculator, radio, clock, converter, Internet, camera, alarms, file manager, music player, radio and more. Check out the full list of available functions by visiting the specifications page.
The keyboard keys are pretty flat with only a slightly raised bump on the home row key of F and J so you are most likely going to have to be looking down at the keyboard to input your text. Luckily, the keys are lighted so even if it is in the dark you can see. An interesting and useful addtion to the keyboard is the OK key. This key will respond to Save or Create actions that appear on the screen. You might expect the Carriage Return key to do that but it doesn't. Note there are also navigation keys at the bottom right and when I first saw them I thought why bother because the device has a touchscreen. If you were typing on the keyboard and didn't want to lose focus by having to touch the screen it does help to have the ability to simply press on an arrow key. (Tip: Sliding open the keyboard will Unlock the device)
The Corby Pro uses a rear cover that does not interfere with the MicroUSB jack. The MicroUSB jack is used to charge or as a transfer connection for synchronizing with the PC Application or using the device like a USB store.
The cover also serves to reduce the amount of dust that would normally get into the device through an open microSD card slot. I like this setup because it means you need to deliberately open the device to access the microsd card.
The rear cover removal is simple and it may not be noticeable in the above photo but the cover has some appealing circular design and patterns.
I was surprised by how useable the 2.8-inch QVGA LCD is. It supports 16-million colours so any photos you have will show up great, albeit a bit small.
Speaking of photos, I had the opportunity to take pics at a number of venues. Take note that the camera is only a 3.2-megapixel device and there is no built-in xenon or LED flash illumination. This means any pictures you decide to take needs to have adequate lighting. You’ll see from my samples that sunny outdoor shots turned out well. Indoor lighted shots tend to turn out a bit grainy.
Panorama is one of the preset scene modes I love to play and still do on my Samsung Jet. On the Corby PRO it is a simple matter of activating in the camera settings and follow the live guides for aligning and stitching the panned photos.
The rest of the phone operations are straight forward. As with many of the smartphone type of phones, you’ll be happy to know there are applications for Facebook, MySpace, Internet, Instant Messenging, and more.
More Widgets' icon in the tray on the left connects to Samsung's wap server where you can check periodically for new or updated widgets.
I was happy to find that even though this is not a high-end device it was equipped with a Google Maps to help you get around, Wi-Fi which is a great benefit when you are on a low-end data connection plan, and of course it has Bluetooth.
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Posted by JamCanSing
21-Feb-2010